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1-23 



□ LI iz: ~: i \Jn 

— . p_ . . — ) Spalding *' Red Cover Series of dj j— j j • 

i; Athletic Handbooks U~ "^"p 

y No. lUR y ■ 



SPALDING'S 

OFFICIAL 

HANDBALL 
GUIDE 



Edited by 

ROBERT L. RIPLEY 

New York 



The Only Complete Book on the Game with 

Official Rules and Court Regulations 



Illustrations by the Author 



I'lJUElSHEl) J{V 



n AMERICAN SPORTS PUBLISHING fj 

- \zr\ COMPANY rz:: :z_ 

i ^ • — ) 45 Rose Street. New Yohk r — • ! ' 

□ n ! iY\n\ 



Copyright, 1923, by American Sports Publishing Company. 



Contents ^ . -C^^ 

WA 2^ PACE 

Introduction ! .. 3 

Preface ^ 5 

Official Rankings, 1922 7 

National Champions, 1915-1922 9 

National Championships of 1922 11 

Tournament Features of 1922-23 23 

Metropolitan A.A.U. Championships 25 

Central A.A.U. Championships 27 

Intercollegiate Handball 27 

Handball in the Northwest 28 

Handball in the Far West 29 

Big Legacy Result of Handball Game 31 

Handball for the Beginner 33 

The Hard-Ball Game 41 

Handball in Ireland 43 

How to Play the Hard-Ball Game 45 

Handball Coming Back Some More (Says "Bugs" Baer) 51 

First National Amateur Handball Tournament 53 

Pioneers of Play 55 

All the Credit to Handball 59 

Handball the World Over 60 

Alley Ball in the Mining Regions of Pennsylvania 63 

Wholesale Handball 64 

Handball the Oldest of All Games Played with a Ball 65 

Official Handball Playing Rules of the A.A.U 69 

Suggested Rule Changes 73 

One-Wall Playing Rules 75 

Irish Handball Rules 80 

Phraseology of Handball 84 

How to Construct a Handball Court 85 

How to Construct a One-Wall Court 87 

How to Score , 90 



©C1A697130 JAN 25 '23 



Introduction 



Handball has made great strides in the United States in recent 
years, but until the present has had no publication in which the 
official playing rules and other information was available. 

In response to requests from every section of the country for the 
publication of a book devoted to handball that would present the 
information on the game in the same manner as the various annuals 
of Spalding's Athletic Library have done for other prominent sports, 
the publishers present this first volume. 

To Mr. Robert L. Ripley, the well-known cartoonist — at present on 
a tour of the world — who kindly offered his services as editor, the 
publishers are greatly indebted, not only for his compilation and illus- 
trations but for his personal interest in the work. 

Whether succeeding numbers shall be issued annually will depend 
upon the reception of this first volume. It is hoped, however, that 
the new annual will fill the traditional "long felt want" and become 
as much a permanent feature of Spalding's Athletic Library as the 
other publications of that well-known series. 

American Sports Publishing Company. 



Spalding s Athletic Library 



Preface. 

From the Cork Examiner, 1819. 

It may be said that there are things of more 
importance than striking a ball against a wall, — 
there are things indeed that make more noise and 
do as little good, such as making war and peace, 
making speeches and answering them, making verses 
and blotting them, making money and throwing it 
away. But the game of handball is what no one 
despises who has ever played at it. It is the finest 
exercise for the body, and the best relaxation for 
the mind. 

The Roman poet said that "Care mounted behind 
the horseman and stuck to his skirts." But this 
remark would not have applied to the handball 
player. He who takes to playing at fives is twice 
young — he feels neither the past nor the future. 





DR. CARL HAEDGE, 

St. Paul Athletic Club, 
National Champion 1919; A.A.U. Champion 1921. 



Spalding s Athletic Library 



Official Rankings, 1922. 
By Robert L. Ripley. 

SINGLES. 

1. A. J. Schinner Milwaukee A. C. 

2. Dr. Carl Haedge St. Paul A.C. 

3. William Sakmann .... Trinity Club, New York. 

4. P. J. McDonough .... Pastime A.C, New York. 

5. William Ranft Los Angeles A.C. 

6. Max Gold Los Angeles A.C. 

7. Lawrence Rothenberg Detroit Y.M.O. 

8. M.Freidenberg. .Olympic Club, San Francisco. 

9. Lee Henry Detroit A.C. 

10. Kirby Hoon. .Helena (Mont.) Handball Assn. 

DOUBLES. 

1. Gold and Laswell Los Angeles A.C. 

2. McDonough and Shea Pastime A.C, N. Y. 

3. Sakmann and Groden Trinity Club, N.Y. 

4. Ranft and Retzer Los Angeles A.C 

5. Kamman and Bell Detroit Y.M.C.A. 




WILLIAM SAKMANN, 
-A ezc i ork. 

Runner-up Xational Singles Championship, 1921-22 



Spalding s Athletic Library 



9 



National Champions. 

Detroit National Invitation Tournament.^ 
Singles. 

Year Champion Runner-up 

1915 Fritz Seiverd, Cleveland. Lee Henry, Detroit. 

1916 Fritz Seiverd, Cleveland. Lee Henry, Detroit. 

1917 Ed Groden, New York. Lee Henry, Detroit. 

1918 Wm. Sakmann, New York. Ed Groden, New York. 

1919 Dr. Haedge, St. Paul. Wm. Sakmann, New York. 
* Discontinued. 

Doubles. 
Year Champions 

1915 Henry and Tomlinson, Detroit. 

1916 Henry and Tomlinson, Detroit. 

1917 Henry and Tomlinson, Detroit. 

1918 Maurer and Micus, Detroit. 

1919 Sakmann and Groden, New York. 

A.A.U. CHAMPIONSHIPS. 
Singles. 

Year Champion Runner-up 

1919 Wm. Ranft, Los Angeles. Joe Lacey, Los Angeles. 

1920 Max Gold, Los Angeles. Geo. Klawiter, Los Angeles. 

1921 Dr. Haedge, St. Paul. Wm. Sakmann, New York. 

1922 A. J. Schinner, Milwaukee. Wm. Sakmann, New York. 

Doubles. 
Year Champions 

1919 Ranft and Lacey, Los Angeles. 

1920 Klawiter and Retzer, Los Angeles. 

1921 Spiegel and Asselin, Detroit. 

1922 Gold and Laswell, Los Angeles. 




''MURDER-BALL BILL' RANFT, 
Los Angeles A.C. 
Former National Champion. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



11 



The National Championships, 1922. 

Singles Champion , Art Schinner 

Doubles Champions Gold and Laswell 

By Robert L. Ripley. 

The National A.A.U. handball championships, both seniors and 
juniors, were held in the courts of the Milwaukee Athletic Club the 
week of March 20, 1922. 

A. J. Schinner of the Milwaukee Athletic Club was crowned cham- 
pion of America when he defeated William Sakmann, of the Trinity 
Club, New York, in the finals, 15 21. 21/18, 21 19. 

Maynard Laswell and ^Nlax Gold of the Los Angeles Athletic Club 
won the national doubles title by defeating William Sakmann and 
Ed Groden of the Trinity Club, New York, 12/21, 21 18, 21/16. 

A record entry list of sixty-four of the greatest handball stars in 
America stripped for the singles and twenty-four teams entered for 
the doubles — the high mark in the history of handball. New York 
sent seven of the leading players of the metropolitan district — five 
from the New York Athletic Club, and two from the Trinity Club; 
Detroit was represented with nine men, Chicago entered four, St. Paul 
sent down a party of seven and from the far coast came the stars of 
the Los Angeles A.C. — six in all — including two former champions, 
Ranft and Gold. 

The championships were conducted in a highly satisfactory manner 
by the Milwaukee Athletic Club, who not only made guests of the 
visiting players but provided every possible comfort and entertain- 
ment. Mr. Arthur O'Connor, chairman of athletics for the M.A.C., 
particularly deserved the commendation of all the players for his 
exceptional and excellent efforts in handling the tournament. 

The games were played on four-wall, wooden, indoor courts, five in 
number, of uniform size, 18]/2 feet by 40 feet. This size was some- 
what small to suit most of the players, but they were newly built, 
well lighted, devoid of hindrances and afforded a fair test of handball 
ability. There is not the slightest doubt but that the best men won in 
the tournament. 

The class of handball shown during this busy week was a revelation. 
Handball is growing rapidly and improving rapidly, and those fortu- 
nate enough to squeeze in the tiny galleries witnessed the greatest 
display of athletic ability, dexterity, science and endurance that has 
ever been offered in any kind of game anywhere. The matches 
between Eh-. Haedge and Bill Ranft, Jack Smith and Eddie Ahearn, 
Schaumer of Los Angeles and Hanley of New York, and, of course, 



ROUND- 1 eOL///0-2 



SENIOR SINGLES 

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Spalding's Athletic Library 



13 



the hectic final match between Sakmann and Schinner, have not been 
surpassed on any field of athletic endeavor. 

A few of the contests deserve detailed recounting. 

Dr. Haedge and "Murder Ball Bill." 

The Doctor was in direct contrast to the Pacific Coast boy. Haedge 
is blonde, his hair is almost white in comparison with his pink skin, 
and he is stockily built. Ranft is trim and dark and trained to the 
minute. Haedge looked soft and slow beside him. 

Haedge won the first game, Ranft seemingly could not get started. 
Bill was trying to rush the champion, who, realizing his somewhat 
lack of condition, refused to be rushed and continually stalled and 
asked for time while he mopped his brow. 

The second game was a terror. Ranft was playing fast and hitting 
the ball like a bullet. Haedge possessed the science and the control. 
And a most deceiving serve. It was a slugger against a boxer. 
Slugger Bill won the second game after it seemed lost. 

The last game! Why describe it. 

The men were 20/20! You can imagine it. Science triumphed 
over force — Haedge won. 

The Sakmann-Gold match was a disappointment. Gold, who almost 
beat Sakmann last year, did not have a chance. He was outclassed. 

Eddie Smith, Detroit A.C, vs. Jack Ahearn, St. Paul A.C. 

This was another great performance. A duel to the death. One of 
the most grueling of the tournament. The match went three games 
and lasted two hours, Smith staggering through to victory simply 
because he possessed about an ounce more of endurance than Ahearn. 

Bill Ranft — "Murder Ball Bill" of Los Angeles — made a record in 
tournament play when he served his way to two straight shutout vic- 
tories over Dr. W. E. Code of Chicago. Ranft began the serve in the 
first game and the Windy City entrant was not able to break his string 
of points. Score: 21/0, 21/0. 

Next came Hanley, of the New York Athletic Club, a likable son 
of the Ould Sod, to meet Schaumer, a slender, nervous youth from 
Los Angeles. This match rivaled the Haedge-Ranft contest as a heart 
breaker. It went three games. This time condition told, and victory 
went to the least exhausted — the boy from the far west. 

The Saam-Clarke battle was another pippin. The slender, skillful 
Saam was unable to hold the burly, bounding, two-hundred pounder 
from Chicago and went down to defeat — but not disgrace. 

The Schinner-Nelson game was a funny one. The husky red-headed 
sporting editor of Milwaukee lost tlie first game by the score of 21/2, 




NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB HANDBALL PLAYERS. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



15 



and then immediately turned around and won from Nelson by the 
score of 21 1. 

THE FINAL. 

Art Schinner, National Champion, is Sporting Editor of the Wisconsin News- 
Sunday Milwaukee Telegram. ^ — Editor's Note. 

By a. J. Schinner. 

"Your o^vTi story of how you won the national handball champion- 
ship," said Ripley, "would be interesting. So let's have it." 

To write about yourself is not a very pleasing contract, but to make 
it short, we are forced to admit we defeated William Sakmann of the 
Trinity Club of New \ork. as game a sport as ever slashed a handball, 
in a three-set battle, by the scores of 15 21. 21 18 and 21 19. for the 
national title. 

They say my condition won the fight. On that point I can't say. 
All I know is that the rest of the fellows seemed to peter out before I 
did. and that helped. But before going further, whatever credit there 
is for this victory belongs to Tom Larkin. athletic director, and Al 
Borgelt. my playing mate, who put me in shape. I started the tour- 
nament weighing 171^2 pounds. I finished weighing 159^2 and still 
strong. I give these figures to those who are interested in lopping off 
superfluous flesh. Handball will surely cut it off. 

To ^^-in this title I had to beat two champions — Carl Haedge. 
national title holder, and Central A.A.L . champion, Lefty Rothenberg 
of Detroit. Then came the climax with William Sakmann of New 
1 ork. one of the greatest players the game has ever produced, a 
master and a strategist who has everything but youth. Sakmann 
today is thirty-eight, and it was the pace ^diich in my estimation 
finally beat him. 

Haedge Great Player. 

There were good, bad and indifferent players in this meet, but credit 
where credit is due. The author of this was playing on home courts 
and wood courts, which gave him a big advantage. To our way of 
thinking Dr. Carl Haedge of St. Paul is still the greatest player in the 
game today, with William Sakmann second. Haedge entered the 
tourney in not any too good condition. He was hopeful of playing 
through and rounding into form the same as he has in previous meets, 
but in this tourney he found the going rough. The courts were 
smaller and the play more concentrated and he was forced to move 
faster, hence we are sorry to say he was caught napping, but give 
Haedge a week or two on any court and he is master of the world at 
handball. He carries two of the best and strongest arms of any 
player I encountered in the meet, and this also includes William Sak- 
mann. whose game, unlike the St. Paul dentist's, tends toward kill 




FRED SAAM, 
St. Paul A.C. 



HON. GEO. SUDHEIMER, 
St. Paul A.C. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



17 



and placement, while Haedge's is all sizzling drive at angles seeking to 
pass an opponent. 

The power of Haedge's play made a big hit with the gallery gods. 
Like Babe Ruth, when Carl clouted the rubber it almost begged for 
mercy. When Haedge is strong and fresh, he can make the handball 
do about everything but talk. Many consider him the greatest player 
in America today despite his loss of the championship. 

But that is beside tlie big question. Ripley wants a story on how 1 
svon. So here goes: 

Drop out the first two games of our fight. Sakmann wanted the 
first game, because he had to have it. He figured it would be costly 
to give me that advantage. You see, he had heard of my condition, 
that I would come strong at the finish, as in all my games, so he 
started out to carry away the first game and he did. He was at his 
best and was too much for me. He just socked 'em in the corners and 
around my neck where I could not reach 'em and he won. Of course 
I was there to make him hustle and the final score was 21, 10. Not 
much of a match or much for the gallery gods to cheer over. 

Works Sakman.x's Left. 
Then came the second. I knew what Sakmann's plan was in this 
game. He was willing to give it to me, but he wanted to make me 
fight for it and wear me down as much as possible for the final 
battle. Wise old boy. Sakmann has two great hands. He can shoot 
with either mitt and drop "em low, but always there is one hand which 
is better than the rest and in this instance Sakmann's left, good as 
it is, does not match his right, so I concentrated on his left. Haedge 
made a terrific play to take two straight games off me in our match 
and almost succeeded, but his condition went against him at the 
crucial moment and without strength he lost out in his fight both in 
the second and third games. Perhaps Sakm^ann drew his lesson from 
this battle and tried to reserv^e his efforts for the third game, but he 
made me work and work hard for that contest. I had him at 19/13 
at one period and then he crept up to 19, 18, before I could collect 
the necessary two points to win the game. 

Here is the yarn if you've patience enough to read it — 
It was Sakmann's serve to start the game. There was an exchange 
of outs and I ran two points on kills. Sakmann evened it up and 
by the same method worked to four. He started to use the "Scotch 
Toss" serve, but I yanked 'em off the back wall for kills and after that 
with every point precious, he just sunk 'em as I did along the left 
side to the left corner where they are mighty hard to dig out. His 
tactics were good, in fact, perfect. I led in the first ten points at 5/4, 
but Sakmann was playing better ball at this period and romped up to 




CHARLES G. CLARK, LOUIS F. NELSON, 

Chicago. Kimrock A.C., Chicago, 

CHAMPIONS OF CHICAGO. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



19 



9/ — ■ before I could stop him. My serve worked fine at this time and 
I crept up to 9/7, where it hung for a time as we battled back and 
forth for an advantage. At 9/7 Sakmann started to assert himself, 
and so we trailed along until the 13/12 mark was reached with him 
leading. 

From 13 he hopped to 16 and I got one measly point. From 16 he 
jumped to 19, and oh, how quiet the gallery was. Only Tom Larkin 
kept yelping to drive on Sakmann's left, while Chet Koepple and 
Art O'Connor and Al Borgelt begged me to open up. So it stood at 
19/13. Sakmann had shown me ever>'thing he had in stock, worked 
on my nerves, worked on everything. It was up to me to come 
through, now or never. So I hooked 'em into the lefthand corner 
with everything I had in stock and crept to 15, where Sakmann put 
me out. He had two points between him and the championship and 
my chances were not worth a plugged dime, but it doesn't pay to give 
up, so I hung on. I think the strain got the old boy at this time for 
he foozled a weak return and I moved in for another run of three 
and the gallery started to cheer again. At 19/18 he stopped me again 
and he took his serve. This time I returned along the left wall 
medium high and he elected to allow it to pass him in order to take 
it off the back wall. He misjudged, however, and missed. I served 
and counted one on an easy kill in the right corner and then fighting 
desperately, he cracked an angle sho. off the side too hot for me to 
handle and he moved in. 

It was his last rally and he played his best card — another serve on 
the low left side. It broke for me and I pulled it out where he could 
not kill it, and in the exchange I beat him to the advantage and 
locked the pill in the corner where he could not reach it. 



7v/r Sakmann's Last Effort. 

My serve. 

The last effort of the New Yorker was his greatest. Despite the 
terrific strain of the battle and the heat of the court it was only the 
breaks which went aginst him which beat him. I dropped what I 
thought was a sure kill in the right corner, but he charged in like a 
race horse and pulled it off the floor — an almost impossible get — but 
it was his last try for a left hand return, medium high on the right 
wall. It squirmed off his fingers for the twentieth point in my favor 
and I sensed an end to the fight. The last point was up and I 
purposely waited to get him on edge and then putting everything J 
had on the rubber, served it low into the lefthand corner. He pulled 
it out and it squirted off the left wall only to fall shy the dead 
boards by a fraction of an inch and the fight was over. 

It was a tough, hard fight — a great one to win and a hard one to 
lose, and while I was glad to cop, I am sorry that it Had to be against 



SENIOR DOUBLES 



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Spalding's Athletic Library 



21 



William Sakmann. His game was clean, his handball clean and 
brilliant. He is a national favorite wherever he appears and he 
deserves to be. 

THE DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP. 

The senior doubles championship began the second day and added 
to the strenuousness of the tournament. Two of the strongest com- 
binations found it advisable to withdraw from the doubles play in 
order to save themselves for the singles. Haedge and Saam and 
Schinner and Borgelt dropped out after a round or two, and possibly 
Sakmann would have been "wise to follow^ suit. 

As it happened, Sakmann and his partner, Ed Groden, entered the 
court for the doubles final with Gold and Laswell — only a couple of 
hours after Sakmann had played his final match with Schinner for 
the singles title. 

Sakmann had enough left to play brilliantly for one set, which the 
New Yorkers captured at 21/12, and then nature took its toll. The 
grueling pace of the morning round in the singles told and despite 
the great two-handed play of the veteran Eddie Groden, former 
national champion, the coast athletes grabbed the next two sets and 
the title. It was a remarkable exhibition of handball, Gold's play 
being especially so. With more power than seemed to be hid in his 
slender frame, he smashed the rubber with terrific power and forced 
the New York players to the back court, where their short court and 
kill game for which they are famous was of little use. This became 
especially effective as the punch left Sakmann's hands and the bur- 
den of the play fell upon Groden. Coupled with Gold was Maynard 
Laswell, who later captured the junior singles title from Harry Bell 
of Detroit. Laswell is only a young player, but he is one of excep- 
tional promise and with added weight should be one of the game's 
greatest in a few years. Score: 12/21, 21/18, 21/17. 



THE JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS. 
Winner, Si^tgles. Runner-up, 

Maynard Laswell, Los Angeles A.C. Harry Bell, Detroit Y.M.C.A. 

Doubles. 

Wm. Micus and J. J. Byrne, Russell Serenberg and William 

K. of C, Detroit. Kamman, Detroit H.C. 

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by Laswell in two sets, 21 16, and 21/13, but Bell had previously been 
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Spalding's Athletic Library 



23 



in the afternoon when the pair met in the semi-finals. Smith is a far 
stronger player than he is given credit for and with his experience and 
condition can make the best hustle. Bell is also a skillful player, but 
lacks the necessary strength to pull through in a big tournament. 

In the doubles junior semi-finals ]\Iicus and Byrne had the honor of 
triumphing over a pair of fellow-to^VNTismen from Detroit, Serenberg 
and Kamman. It was a two-set fight. Kamman was still weak from 
illness experienced earlier in the week and was not at his best. 



THE 1923 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. 

The A.A.U. National Championship for 1923 in both 
Singles and Doubles has been awarded to the St. Paul 
{Minn.) Athletic Club. The championships will be held 
some time in March. 

The St. Paul Club is well equipped for the undertaking, 
with two concrete courts, both oj equal size — 22 feet ivide 
and 50 feet long. 

Dr. Carl Haedge, who has ivon the title twice, ivill be very 
hard to beat on his own courts. 

The A.A.U. National Junior Championship in both Sin- 
gles and Doubles has been awarded to the Pittsburgh 
Athletic Club. The event icill be staged with all of the care 
and attention to detail that marks every event held under 
the auspices of this well known organization. 



Tournament Features of 1922. 

Hardest hitter — Carl Haedge, St. Paul A.C. 

Smoothest worker — William Sakmann, Trinity Club, New York. 

Best left hand — Eddie Groden, Trinity Club, New York. 

Best form — Fred Saam, St. Paul A.C. 

Biggest player — Charles Clarke, Kimrock A.C, Chicago. 

Smallest player — Gus Schneider, Milwaukee Y.M.C.A. 

Fastest player — ]\Iax Gold, Los Angeles A.C. 

Hardest server — Art Schinner, St. Paul A.C. 




p. J. Mcdonough, dan shea, 

Pastime A,C., Neiv York. Pastime A.C., New York. 

Metropolitan Doubles Champion. Metropolitan Doubles Champion 

and Runner-up in Singles. 
National Ail-Around Champion; 



Spalding^s Athletic Library 25 



Metropolitan A.A.U. Championships. 

Year Champion Runner-up Doubles Champions 

1920 Cyrus Regan Dan Shea P. Ryan and J. McGann 

1921 Wm. Sakm-ann Dan Shea W. Sakmann and F. Curry 

1922 Dan Shea William Sakmann P. McDonough and Dan Shea 

The first real metropolitan handball tournament to be held since 
the days of Eagan was promoted at the instigation of Hon. Murray 
Hulburt, president of the Board of Aldermen; Senator Frawley, spon- 
sor of the "Frawley Law" that put boxing on a reputable basis in New^ 
York state, and the late "Jim"Mitchel, former national weight throwing 
champion, on the court of the Annunciation Club, Harlem, in 1920. 

Cyrus Regan of the Annunciation Club beat Dan Shea of the 
Pastime A.C., in the finals of the singles championship, and the 
doubles w^ent to Ryan and McGann of the Pastimes. 

The New York Athletic Club gave the game a hefty boost when 
the tournament was held on the courts of their city house the follow^- 
ing year. William Sakmann of the Trinity Club w^on from Dan Shea 
in the finals, and Sakmann and his partner, Frank Curry, triumphed 
over Tom Jordan and Robert Dowling of the New York A.C. in 
the doubles. 

In 1922, the Pastime Club built a special court for the matches 
and w^ere rewarded by their own team — Paddy McDonough and Dan 
Shea — winning the doubles title. In the finals of the singles Sak- 
mann met wdth an injury, and Shea declined to accept the title by 
default, requesting the ■\Ietropolitan Association to order the contest 
played over. On the replay Sakmann won after a hard fought 
struggle, the score being 21/13, 11/21, 21/13, 21/16. 

The Y.M.C.A., in East Eighty-sixth Street, has attracted many of 
the finest players in the Metropolitan district. Such stars as Sak- 
mann, McDonough, Lennon, Broderick, Buxbaum, Groden, Curry. 
Neeman and Butler play there, forming w^hat is probably the best 
team of handball players in the world. 

The New York A.C. has a strong group in Ruggles, Hanley, Ripley, 
Doherty, IMcCoy, Ruddy and Hyland. 



LAWRENCE ROTHENBERG, LEE HENRY, 

Y.M 0., Detroit. Detroit A C. 

Central Association Champion. 



Spalding^ s Athletic Library 



27 



Central A.A.U. Championships. 



Year Champion 

1921 A. J. Schinner 
Milwaukee A.C. 

1922 L. Rothenberg 
Detroit Y.M.O. 



Runner-up 
Wilfred Asselin 
Detroit Y.M.C.A. 

Harry Bell 
Detroit Y.M.C.A. 



Doubles Champions 
Asselin and Spiegel 
Detroit Y.M.C.A. 
Serenberg and Brochu 
Detroit 



The Detroit Athletic Club, always a strong proponent of handball, 
probably had more to do with placing the game on a national com- 
petitive basis than any other one institution. It might almost be 
called the "Father of Handball*' as a permanent fixture on the na- 
tional sports calendar. 

The beginning of the movement that brought this game into its 
present prominence was an invitation tournament held at the Detroit 
A.C. in 1917. At this time, the game had no place on the A.A.U, 
programme. Tournaments previously held had been small sectional 
affairs, often reaching no greater proportions than that of a dual 
competition between two clubs of two cities. The whole country was 
invited to compete in the Detroit courts in 1917, however, and the 
response was very satisfactory. 

After the discontinuation of the D.A.C. tournament the Central 
A.A.U. organized their own and the first matches were held in 
Milwaukee in 1921. A. J. Schinner, the present national champion, 
was returned winner, defeating Wilfred Asselin of the Detroit 
Y.M.C.A. in the finals. Stanley Spiegel and Wilfred Asselin won 
the doubles. 

In 1922 the tournament was held in Detroit. Lawrence Rothenberg 
of the Y.M.O. , Detroit, w^as victorious, defeating, among the others, 
A. J. Schinner. Harry Bell of the Detroit Y.M.C.A. was runner-up 
Russell Serenberg and Gile Brochu, also of Detroit, won the doubles 
title. 



Intercollegiate Handball. 

An effort is being made to place handball on an intercollegiate 
basis among the colleges in New York. Columbia has elected a man- 
ager and captain and plans to challenge the club teams of the neigh- 
borhood. In the past the Blue and White has confined itself to inter- 
fraternity and interclass matches. New York University, Fordham, 
Manhattan College and C.C.N.Y. also have many who are experts. 
Intercollegiate competition will not be confined to metropolitan insti- 
tutions, however, but will undoubtedly be eventually taken up by the 
governing bodies of college sport and regulation rules and champion- 
ships adopted. 



28 



Spalding s Athletic Library 



Handball in the Northwest. 

MONTANA STATE CHAMPIONHIPS. 



Year Champion 

1919 Lester Loble 

1920 Kirby Hoon 

1921 Kirby Hoon 

1922 Kirby Hoon 



Runner-up 
Kirby Hoon 
"Tige" Connelly 
"Tige" Connelly 
'Tige" Connelly 



Doubles Champions 
Hoon and O'Kennedy 
Hoon and O'Kennedy 
Hoon and O'Kennedy 
Hoon and Loble 



By Lester Loble, Doubles Champion of the Northwest. 

Montana has been for many years actively interested in handball 
and has produced some notable players, among them Byrne, now of 
Detroit, formerly of Great Falls, Montana, who w^on the 1922 junior 
doubles title, with Micus as his partner at the national tournament at 
Milwaukee. Byrne was beaten in IMontana in 1920 by Hoon, as well 
as by Father J. J. O'Kennedy of Helena, who is one of the best 
handball players, that has ever come to this State. Father O'Ken- 
nedy was formerly Hoon's partner and they w^ere doubles champions 
for the three years preceding 1922. Bud Hartwig and George Melton 
of Dillon, Montana, in 1920 at Spokane, won the Northwestern 
doubles championship and were runners-up this year against Kirby 
Hoon and the wTiter. The "Helena Handball Association*' is a very 
active association, of which the writer is president. 

Butte, a city with a large Irish population, has many devotees of 
handball, and has in the persons of Tom Crowley and "Tige" Con- 
nelly, players of exceptional merit. Connelly ha3 three times, in 
1920. 1921 and 1922, been runner-up in the singles. 

There is a Montana state tournament each year in March, played 
either at Butte, Great Falls, or Helena. Last season it was here at 
Helena, under the auspices of the Y.M.C.A., and in 1923 it will be 
at Great Falls. The wTiter has been playing the State tournaments 
for a number of years and additionally, in 1920. at St. Louis, in the 
Missouri Athletic Club defeated Mr. C. Poole, then State champion 
of Missouri. 

Mr. Hoon is now postmaster of Helena, and one of the wheelhorses 
of the Republican party in Montana. The writer was for four years 
prosecuting attorney of Lewis and Clark County. Montana, formerly 
a member of the City Council of Helena, and has for years been 
active in Democratic circles in Montana. The only time Hoon and 
the writer can pull together is in the handball court. Hoon is a very 
exceptional handball player, good all-round athlete and in his youth 
("rattling the skeleton") was a professional baseball player. For 
about ten years he pitched for the Seattle Pacific Coast League and 
was a team mate of such men as Chief !Mevers, Joe Tinker, and 
others. He was signed at one time by the St. Louis "BrowTis." 



Spalding s Athletic Library 29 



Handball in the Far West. 

By Carroll Vax Court, 
Handball Instructor of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. 

A few years before the big quake in San Francisco the Olympic 
Club of that city was probably the most famous amateur club in the 
country, winning innumerable championships. It had many famous 
teachers on its staff and reaching out for more of the best instructors 
it sent for Mike Eagan. the world's professional handball champion, 
and without a doubt, the greatest handball player the world has ever 
known. Eagan settled in San Francisco, where he introduced the 




Left to right — Carroll Van Court, Handball; Dan McLeod, Wrestling; 
Al Treloar, Physical Culture; De Witt Van Court, Boxing; Vance 
Veith, Swimming. 



ATHLETIC INSTRUCTORS OF THE LOS ANGELES A.C. 
April 11, 1917. 

famous underhand stroke, which all champions use. On his tour he 
defeated all rivals, including the Pacific Coast champion. 

While at the Olympic Club, I had the pleasure of studying under 
him, and learning his wonderful style and system. After the earth- 
quake, I moved to Los Angeles, where, when the new club was 
built, I was appointed handball instructor, because I was the only 
one that knew Eagan's famous methods. I have been here at the 
club for nine years and have taught many players. 

Handball is played extensively in Los Angeles. We average 105 
men in our club tournaments. The Y.M.C.A. has tournaments, also, 
-with perhaps 50 or 60 entered. We have six fine regulation courts, 




PROPER WAY TO TAKE THE BALL OFF THE BACK WALL. 
"Murder-Ball BUT' Ranft. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



31 



each about 50 feet by 24 feet, with 25-foot ceihngs. The walls are 
of concrete, with wooden floors, which make the best courts. 

The first National A.A.L . handball tournament was played on these 
courts of the Los Angeles A.C. in 1919, and was won by William 
Ranft. In 1920 the national tournament was again held at this club 
and ^lax Gold was returned the winner. Ranft is the 1922 club 
champion. 

The 1921 champion of Los Angeles was Max Gold, as Bill Ranft 
was just getting over an operation and did not play his real game. 
Gold also is champion of Southern California. 

The colleges have no decent courts, only front walls with a small 
space and few good players. Their tournaments never attract atten- 
tion. 

The Olympic Club of San Francisco still has some fine players, 
but they played handball with a tennis ball and we never have been 
able to hold a real important contest with them. But since the A.A.U. 
barred the tennis ball from tournaments, they have adopted the regu- 
lation handball, and in the near future matches will be consummated. 

As to the future of our players, personally I believe that Ad 
Schaumer, who is a beginner, is advancing faster than any player T 
ever taught. I expect great things from Schaumer in less than two 
years. 

Big Legacy Result of Handball Game. 

James A. Scott, a retired policeman, who lives in Forest Hills. L. I., 
has received a bequest of $70,000 from the estate of his friend, Wil- 
liam Milne GrinnelL architect, who died in August, 1920. 

The friendship between Scott and Grinnell developed from a chance 
acquaintance made when playing handball on Washington Heights, 
New York City. 

Mr. Grinnell left an estate valued at $341,619, according to the 
accounting of the executors. 



It only needs a level court, 

A proper, smooth-faced wall, 
The spirit and the willingness, 

A good fast-bounding ball; 
A crowd to egg the players on 

With cheers and loud acclaim — 
And there you have the "makins" 

Of a real go-gettin' game. 




START AND END OF A PERFECT KILL. 
''Murder-Ball BUT' Ranft. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 33 



Handball for the Beginner. 

By a. J. ScHi>">ER, Xatioxal Champion. 

Handball is a game which takes considerable painstaking effort to 
master, but everyone irrespective of physical condition will find it 
worth his while. Handball combines about everytning of appeal to the 
athletically inclined since it requires a mental and physical co-ordina- 
tion which gives the keenest of pleasure to those who follow it. 

If you are ambitious of becoming a handball player our first warning 
would be, beware of discouragement. Handball has a science and 
technique all its own which must be mastered through experience. 

To start with take to the game slowly until you have hardened your- 
self physically. Two or three games every other day or every second 
day is sufficient. Even the more experienced players do not engage 
in a series of gam.s more than twice a week. 

The basic principal of all success in handball is the underhand 
stroke. Without it you cannot hope to travel far or gain much suc- 
cess. The underarm stroke can be likened more or less to the sweep- 
ing throw of an undirarm pitcher. Take a ball of any kind, enter 
any handball court, point your left foot towards the right corner 
about a foot and a half in advance of your right foot and then throw 
the ball underhand at the lower boards. This will give you the 
mechanics of the stroke so necessary to success in handball. Sweep 
the ball across your body with a side arm motion and a final snap 
which puts the zip on the rubber. It takes time and plenty of it 
to secure the knack, but once you get on the right track position and 
all else comes easily. 

One of the greatest faults of every beginner is his tendency to 
fight the wall. Wait out the ball. Let it take its full bound, wait 
until it comes down and then catch it waist high. Always try to get 
body in position to hit the ball as w^hen you serve it. Don't tense 
your arms or ever alter your stroke. These are all fundamentals of 
good handball. 

Of course good handball and brainy handball can be played ^sithout 
the use of the underarm delivery but the player is handicapped mechan- 
ically and all things being equal between two players, the one with 
the underhand stroke at his command will be announced victor in the 
long run. 

Next in importance to the underhand stroke comes the service. 
Many players consider the serve as half, or in truth, considerably more 
than half of their game. The object of every serve is to so place the 
ball as to assure a w^eak return. This will result in a good opportunity 
for a "kill" or fast angle shot. 




"MURDER-BALL BILL" RAXFT, 

Los Angeles Athletic Club. 
Former Xational Champion Shoiving Hoiv the Hand Should Meet the 

BdL 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



35 



There are many types of serves, but by far the most satisfactory 
and one which has stood the test of handball the ^\-orld over and on 
all courts is the one delivered from the center of the court. The 
server takes his place directly back of the short line and using as 
much strength as he can bring to bear on the rubber, drives the ball 
hard against the front Avail just high enough so that the rebound will 
bring it over the short line. The ball, in striking the front wall, takes 
an angle which should carry it back towards the right angle formed 
by the rear and side wall. This serve, when delivered from the center 
of the court with an underarm stroke and aided by the force which a 
seasoned player will put into his drive, presents a ball difficult to 
return and an element of surprise which disconcerts an opponent. 
Through this method of play it is possible to keep an opponent on 
the jump from the left side of the court to the right and to so rattle 
him that his return is invariably weak and easily disposed of. 

This serve, I believe, approaches closer to the real spirit of hand- 
ball and should be given precedence over the long, lobbing trick 
service known as the "Scotch Toss" and used by players in courts 
running to fifty-foot length and over. The long lobbing serve is cal- 
culated to keep an opponent far back in the court and thus force him 
to shoot so that his returns will also drop in an easy position for a 
"kill" or for another "lift" down the court; necessitating his going 
back on the run. Such tactics pursued relentlessly will fatigue even 
the best player, destroy his game and make him rather an easy victim, 
provided of course, that he does not follow^ the same manner of play. 
But, as stated, such means are really only effective in the longer 
courts. 

Players who are taking their first lessons in handball are of course 
advised to use gloves until they have mastered the underarm delivery 
or until their hands so harden as to withstand the continuous buffet- 
ing. Remember the idea of handball is not to slap the ball, the under- 
arm stroke is a combination of catch and throw synchronizing so 
smoothly that there is really no effect on the hands at all. The real 
spirit of handball is to play without gloves and I think the day will 
come when in all tournaments gloves, tape and other protective 
measures will be barred. 

Perhaps the lessons and advice herein contained may seem difficult, 
but it is always easy to build on a good foundation and when striving 
to learn starting correctly is a full half of the race. 

So try, and keep on trying. It takes time to become a good handball 
player just as it takes time to be a good golfer or good tennis player. 




L- > 

a: a: 

<3 



PART II 



THE 

HARD-BALL GAME 

OR 

IRISH HAXDBALL 



Irish handball differs principally from the 
American game in respect to the solid, leather- 
covered ball used. A larger court is also required 
and a front ivall of marble, slate or granite. 
The size of the court is approximately 25 feet 
wide, 60 feet long and 35 feet high. 



I>,CLUDING 

A Review of the Development of Handball, Pioneers of 
the Game in America, Historical Account of the 
Origin of Handball, and Instructions for 
Playing the Hard-Ball Game by Mike 
Eagan, Former World's Champion. 




JAME^ KELLY. 
Hard-Ball Champion of the World. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



41 



The Hard-Ball Game. 



HARD-BALL CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD. 



John Cavanagh. 
William Baggs. 
David Browning 
John Lawlor. . . 

Phil Casey 

Mike Eagan. . . . 
Jim Kelly 



1800—1817 Cork 

1855 — 1870 Tipperary 

1870—1885 Cork 

1885 — 1887 Pennsylvania (Dublin) 

,1887— Retired 1900 Montrath (Brooklyn) 

, 1903— Retired 1906 Gahvay (Jersey City) 

1909— Bi ooklyn ( Mayo ) 



The Tailteann Games — sometimes spoken of as the "Irish Olym- 
pics" — a revival of the ancient athletic games of the Irish race, has 
been postponed for twelve months and is scheduled for August, 1923. 
in Dublin. 

As might be supposed, handball will be the feature event of these 
Irish games. Only Irishmen, or those of Irish descent — to the extent 
at least of a nativeborn grandparent — are eligible to compete. 

The United States will send a team of six — three hard-ball and 
three soft-ball players — and possibly a substitute or two. Two men 
of each team of three wiU act as a doubles team, while the other mil 
compete in the singles only. 

The tryouts will be held in different parts of this country next June 
or July under the jurisdiction of the A.A.U. 




/. /. PEMBROKE, 
Dublin. 
Champion of Ireland. 



Spalding^ s Athletic Library 



13 



Handball in Ireland. 

By "Carlery." 

Handball, one of the oldest of Gaelic games, has been played in 
one form or another in Ireland for centuries. A front wall of dressed 
stone and a floor of hard clay, with "tossing" flags near the wall at 
either side, a ball wound on a small gutta or wooden center, rolled 
wdth worsted thread to the required size, and covered with thin horse- 
skin — preferably a foal's skin — these were the scenes and require- 
ments of many an exciting struggle between rivals from different 
parishes, baronies, clans, or counties in Ireland many generations ago. 

From 1850 on, the game rapidly developed and assumed its modern 
shape. The advent of the Gaelic Association brought new rules; 
cement floors, front, side, and back walls; tossing from near the short 
line followed, and use of a speedier and lighter ball produced the 
delightful game so fascinating to Irishmen in particular and athletes 
in general in most civilized countries. 

Though the rubber ball has become very popular for health and 
pleasure both in America and at home in Ireland and although many 
fine "rubbers" have been played with this, the "soft" ball, the hard 
ball ("alley cracker") remains the medium of most high class players. 

"Only fit for schoolboys and children." This is how the old 
admirers of hard ball speak of the rubber ball. 

Ireland has produced many fine players who have from time to 
time visited America and contested for the world's championship. 
Patronage of gentlemen such as the late Alderman Dunne of Brooklyn 
gave the game a big fillip, and visits of John Lawler of Dublin, Fitz- 
gerald of Tralee, Oliver Drew of Cork City, Tim Twohill of Kanturk, 
and J. J. Bowles of Limerick roused much enthusiasm. 

Beautifully appointed courts — far superior to any of the home 
courts in Ireland — are numerous in many American cities, and suc- 
cessive champions of high class ability such as Casey, Eagan, Drew 
and Kelly, have spread the light in America, whilst in Ireland the 
game was never as popular as it is today. 

The present champion of Ireland is J. J. Pembroke of Dublin. 
J. J. Bowles held the Irish championship for many years, but he was 
beaten by the younger and speedier Pembroke. Bowles had slightly 
the better of the opening gam.es in his home court in Limerick, but 
was beaten on all points of the game at the final session in Dublin. 

Pembroke is about 5 feet IOV2 inches tall, is a symmetrically built 
athlete and very popular. Using good court craft, he is equally useful 
wdth the left and right hands, and is a game, gritty fighter, who nevei 
loses heart and who appears to revel in long sustained play. 

Bowles, Lyons and Coyne are serious rivals and it is likely that the 
final selection of the Irish team will come from this quartette. 




MIKE EAGAN, 
Jersey City, N. J. 
World's Champion, 1903-1906. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 45 



How to Play the Hard-Ball Game. 

By Mike Eagax, 
Former World's Handball Champion. 

It may be interesting to lovers of handball to know that Eagan, who is generally 
regarded as the greatest player the game has kno'vvn, is now living at Saranac Lake, 
N. Y., and enjoying the best of health.— Editor. 

Of all games conducive to good health and to perfect a person's 
physical condition I put handball at the head. It may be inferred 
that I am prejudiced against any other sport, owing to my position 
in handball, but I am not. I love baseball. I could run, jump, box, 
^vrestle, and there is not a field sport with which I am not con- 
versant. 

The difficulty in mastering the game depends how you go at it. 
If you want to become an expert at once it will be found to be 
very hard and the chances are you will give up in despair. If, 
however, you only wish to start in as a beginner should and improve 
by practise, the points of the game can be easily picked up and 
instead of being too strenuous playing will be found both pleasing 
and exhilarating. 

As in every other kind of athletic sport, handball calls for a good 
eye, quick action and headwork. It is necessary to keep track of 
the ball at all times, and in your efforts at play vigorous measures 
should be used and a well-defined attack mapped out that will de- 
feat your opponent's plans. Don't practise too long at the start, 
two games or three at the most being sufficient for one session in 
the court. 

Of course, a regulation court and a regulation ball are necessary for 
a proper display of the game, but I would advise ever^'one before 
tackling these propositions to learn how to strike the ball and the 
method of placing it. Any kind of a wall ^nth a smooth surface 
wdll answer this purpose and instead of a regular playing ball use 
a hollow rubber, lawn tennis or any other light ball. The leather 
ball is apt to hurt your hands because you do not know how to 
hit it properly and when the hands are hurt you become disheartened 
and claim that the game is too severe. But there can be no such 
things as injured hands if you proceed along the lines I have stated. 

In speaking of hands I mean both right and left. The right, of 
course, is more often used and it is only natural for a right-hand 
person to play mth that hand in preference to the left, but mthout 
you can use one as well as the other, outside of servdng, there is no 
use trying to become a successful player. There is no great diffi- 
culty in becoming as proficient with the left as with the right, espe- 



46 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



cially for a beginner, and I would advise everyone to practise with 
the left as often as possible and never attempt to complete a left-hand 
play with the right. I am sorry to say that there are entirely too 
many of our prominent players who are essentially right-handed. 
They get along very well as long as they can hit the ball with the 
right hand, but a heady player will soon find out their weakness 
and certain defeat will be the result. 

These points are better brought out in a perfectly constructed 
court than at any other place. My idea of such a court is a build- 
ing with a playing space from 60 to 65 feet long, from 22 to 25 feet 
wide, from 30 to 35 feet high, ^sdth a solid backwall about 10 feet 
high, the whole being well lighted and ventilated. The front and 
side walls should be of the best kind of cement, as hard and smooth 
as it is possible to make them. The floor should be of pine boards 
laid upon a solid foundation and bound so firmly together that 
there can be no possible chance of their getting out of plumb. 
With such a court playing becomes much easier because, like at 
billidrds and pool, you can nearly always depend on the ball going 
with the speed and accuracy you intend it should. 

Now we come to serving the ball. Stand firmly on the feet, bound 
the ball straight so that you can have a good whack at it at the 
height of the waist, and w4th the hand scoop-shaped, w^th fingers 
tightly closed, swing with an underhand motion and put the weight 
of the body behind the blow. You must bring the ball out from 
the wall beyond the ace line or it is a short ball and if you do the 
same thing three times in succession in a game against an opponent 
you lose your hands. It's best to start in right away to tr>^ and hit 
the ball as far from the front wall as possible. You may not suc- 
ceed very well at first, but if you keep at it you are bound to find out 
your faults and when you become successful with a light ball you 
cannot fail to go ixTong with a regular handball. 

A good bit of the trouble to hit a ball properly occurs in the im- 
pact of the ball w^ith the hand. Many persons are apt to hit the 
ball with the fingers, or with the palm of the hand. This with a 
leather ball will make the hand sore. There is onlv one way to 
hit to be effective and that is to catch the ball with the scooped 
hand just at the base of the fingers. The little object will not only 
travel accurately, but with such force as to give confidence in your 
future play. Hitting should be one of the first lessons of the be- 
ginner, and I would advise no one to attemut to play a same without 
first having the swing and a pretty good knowledge of hitting. 

After getting the swing and the hang of hitting the next im- 
Dortant thing is to place the ball. The fact that you can hit with 
force will not count for much in a game if you cannot place the 
ball outside of your opponent's reach and to do this you must 



Spalding^ s Athletic Library 



47 



use your head as well as your hands. Pick out a spot on the front 
wall when serving and keep bounding the ball until you get it at 
the proper height for hitting. Then put as much force as possible 
in your effort as will send the ball beyond the playing line, but where 
your opponent can easily make a return. If you are serving at the 
right of the court your opponent will naturally be at the left. 
Fool him as much as possible. Dont let him recover the ball with 
his right hand. Keep it to his left and well down. A difficult 
sensed ball is one that drops on a line just where the left wall and 
floor connect. In such a case there is no rise to the ball and unless 
the opposing player is dexterous enough to catch it on the fly the 
effort of the server will count as a point nine times out of ten. 

Another effective service is a high ball sent to the left corner of 
the court where it will bound in such a way that the left hand will 
have to be used in the attempt at recovery. Even then the ball will 
be in such close proximity to the wall that it will be almost an 
impossibility to gather it. If it is returned it will not be with any 
force and the inside player will have a good chance to count. A good 
point while serving is to place the ball in a different locality in the 
back court from what you had been doing. Instead of hitting to the 
left, change your position slightly just as you are making the swing 
and send the ball to the right. Then there is the Scotch service. It 
is a delivery that sends the ball against all four walls, and requires a 
perfectly parallel drive with terrific force behind it. 

A good server is one thing, but a clever all-round player is another. 
Many persons make service a specialty. This is not handball by 
any means. Of course, effective tossing is very necessary, but without 
you know the other points of the game you will never make a 
successful match player. In recovering a iDall be alert and watch 
every movement of your opponent. Unless the latter is an experi- 
enced player you can come pretty near telling in what direction 
of the court the ball will come. But you cannot tell how it will 
bound. It may hop off the wall straight or it may take an ugly 
carom. In either case meet the ball firmly, 'catch it properly with 
either hand and you will be able to successfully complete the play 
you are striving for. After recovery keep a watchful eye on the 
ball and the man you are playing against. It's best to keep near 
him, but not close enough as to hinder him in hitting. If he is 
within the ace line he will be likely to drop the ball safely to the 
wall, in either corner, perhaps. You will be there to gather the 
ball. If, on the other hand, he should send the ball to the outer 
court you will be able to anticipate the play and after a sprint gather 
the ball as it bounds from the back and side walls and by a well- 
directed drive send it to the lowest part of the front wall from 
which your opponent could not possibly return it. This is what 




JOE HEXEY, 
Casey's Court, Brooklyn, T. 
One of the Greatest Hard-Ball Players in the World. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



49 



is termed "killing the ball" and is one of the best plays of the game. 
"Cutting the ball'' is also effective when well executed. It consists of 
first hitting the right or left walls, the ball caroming on the front 
wall at such a puzzling angle that it drops to the floor in such a 
position as to make it impossible to gather it. 

There are other kinds of intricate plays which are brought out 
during a game, but you can learn more by practising them than if 
I were to talk to you for years. But after becoming proficient in 
all the fine points of the game you should always size up your 
opponent and discover his weakness. When you find him unable 
to cope with your play keep it up until he catches on. Then switch 
to another style. Always keep him puzzled and guessing as to 
what your next play will be. Hit the ball with a fierce, jerking 
motion, so that he will always be on the move. This will naturally 
have a tendency to weaken him, especially if he is not in shape, 
and when you have him winded you've got him beaten. 

I have tried in my humble way to show how handball should be 
played and if my instructions are carried out I cannot see anything 
that will stop a person from mastering the greatest of all games. 



1 



Spalding s Athletic Library 



51 



"HANDBALL COMING BACK SOME MORE," SAYS 
Bugs " Baer 

(Reprinted from the jNew York American.) 

There is one game that would make this borough the 
greatest two-handed nation in the world. 
That game is handball. 

It is marvelous how the leather ball players spank this 
pill barefisted. It is just exactly like an outfielder trying 
to bat a fly with his bare hand. The solution is a follow 
through motion of the arm that is half a catch and half 
a toss. The ball is struck just after it reaches the maxi- 
mum ordinate of its arc and is on the downward curve. 

This stroke is the perfect follow through, much different 
from the sidearm swats of rubber ball players. It is easy 
to acquire. Any beginner can learn in about twenty years. 
Casey, Eagan and Jim Kelly, who is present champion, all 
started playing when they were old enough to fall out of 
their cradles. 

A Brooklyn boy, now a member of the Philopatrian 
Club, Philadelphia, claims the title. His name is Joe 
Heney, and he is a graduate of Casey's Court. Owen 
Brady is another logical runner-up, with Joe Lynch, Bill 
Handover, Pete Burke, Paddy Lyons and Frank Neary all 
sticking in sealed bids. 

The front walls of the leather ball courts are made of 
slate and black marble, and the resilience of the ball plus 
the acquired rebound gives the game twice the speed of the 
rubber ball contest. The leather ball game gets very little 
publicity, as it is played only in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, 
Chicago, Cincinnati, Los Angeles and San Francisco. At 
one time a match game must have been considered import- 
ant. We recently made a Sunday morning trip to Casey's. 
Up in the quaint, ladderlike gallery was a dust-covered 
relic of a telegraph instrument which had probably been 
installed to report the great Lawlor-Casey international 
series as long ago as 1887, when Irishmen all over the 
world eagerly awaited news of the international contest 
between those two famous exponents of the oldest of com- 
petitive games. 



Spalding s Athletic Library 



53 



First National Amateur Handball 
Tournament. 

At the annual meeting of the Amateur Athletic Union in 1896 
handball was placed on the list of events over which the A.A.U. holds 
jurisdiction, and it was at this meeting, upon the suggestion of the 
Jersey City Handball Club, that the A.A.U. began the arrangements 
for its first national championship tournament, w^iich was awarded to 
the Jersey City Handball Club and held on the courts of that organ- 
ization January 7 and 8, 1897. 

The inaugural tournament had as entries James Fitzpatrick of the 
Manhattanville Club, New York; Daniel McCarthy of the Harrison 
Club of New Jersey; Michael Eagan and James Flaherty of the Jersev 
City Club; William Schmidt, Brooklyn Club, and Napoleon Lavoie 
of the St. Roche Club, Quebec, Canada. In pairing, the men drew 
by number, and the games consisted of best three in five of twenty- 
one aces each, and in the final round the contests were best four 
in seven games to constitute a set. William L. Jones of the Brooklyn 
Handball Court, was referee; Martin Sweeney of the Jersey City 
Club was ccorer, and the rules used were especially drafted by the 
A.A.U. and embraced several important changes over the rules in 
use by professionals. The Spalding hard ball was used. 

Eagan proved himself superior in every way to the others and 
won easily. He simply romped through the tournament. The finals: 



Aces by 

rirst Game. Service 

Eagan 13 4 1 3—21 8 

Schmidt 1 2..— 3 2 

Second Game. 

Eagan 3 3 4 8 1 2—21 7 

Schmidt 5 2 2..— 9 5 

Third Game. 

Eagan 10 3 6 2—21 21 

Schmidt 1 1 1..— 3 3 

Fourth Game, 

Eagan 10000311201031400010 3—21 6 



Schmidt ....01010010002020100010 *— 9 6 



*Hand lost by foul on service. 




PHIL CASEY. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 55 



Pioneers of Play. 

Although the game of handball — in one form or another — is as 
old as man, it is generally accepted as being of Celtic origin, and 
rightly so, for it was the Irish who developed and made the game 
what it is today. It is only natural that the pioneers of the game 
were all Irishmen. 

The first noted name we find in handball lore is that of John 
Cavanagh of Cork. Cavanagh died in 1819, but his long and success- 
ful career gave such impetus to the game that we soon find it written 
during the early forties that "the num.ber of handball players in Ire- 
land is something enormous.*' 

Out of the long array the name of William Baggs stands excep- 
tionally prominent. In fact, he might be called father of the modern 
game. It was he who invented all the dodging tricks, curved balls, 
low drives and screw tosses known to the experts today. Baggs was 
a native of Tipperary, and was in his prime in the early '50s. He 
traveled all over the country, met and defeated all comers and finally 
was regarded as invincible. On one occasion, following a heated 
altercation with an army officer, he offered to play his opponent with- 
out using his hands. The match was played then and there, and to 
the astonishment of the onlookers, and with hands tied, Baggs put 
up every ace with his feet. 

After the passing of Baggs the next great player was David 
Browning, probably one of the strangest characters Ireland ever pro- 
duced. His adventures and escapades would fill a volume. Not only 
was he a champion handball player, but he was a first class sprinter, 
jumper, weight thrower, vaulter, boxer, fencer, swimmer, skater, 
billiardist, and horseman. He met John Lawlor for the Irish cham- 
pionship in 1885 and it proved once again the axiom that "youth 
will be served," for Lawlor after a hard tussle was declared the 
winner. 

Paradoxically, Lawlor, who was a native American, born in Penn- 
sylvania, as champion of Ireland played the American champion, 
Phil Casey, who was born in Montrath, Ireland. It w^as the first 
international match ever played. 

The Lawlor-Casey match w^as for $1,000 a side, the best of twenty- 
one games, ten being played at Cork and eleven in the United States. 
The first series was decided in the old Grattan Street racquet ctfilrt-, 
Cork, on August 4, 1887, and the unusual size of the building (being 
about 80 by 40 feet) was a severe handicap to the American cham- 




JUDGE DUNNE, JOHN LAWLOR, 

Crescent A.C., Brooklyn. Ireland, 

TIERNEY O'ROURKE, World's Champion, 1885-1887. 

New York A.C. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



57 



pion, and he was beaten six games to four, Lawlor scoring a total of 
i66 aces against 125. 

The second series of games were set to be played in the fall of 
the same year at Sweeney's court, Thirty-fifth Street and Third 
Avenue, New York. The limited accommodations caused a chang3, 
and the famous court of Casey's in Brooklyn was erected for the 
purpose, where the two men met on November 29, 1887. Tickets sold 
for 15 each, and if the gallery had been five times larger it would 
not have held the crowd that were anxious to see the games. The 
series proved to be one-sided, Casey winning seven straight games 
and the match. He scored 147 against 63 for Lawlor. 

Casey was hailed as the champion of the world and zealously 
guarded his title until he voluntarily retired in 1900. He was never 
defeated. His name is held in reverence by all Irishmen — many who 
claim that to this day he never had an equal. 

Without question Casey was the "father" of handball in this coun- 
try. He was strong, active, immensely popular, and a prime mover 
in the advancement of the game. He traveled as far as California 
and visited every principal city where handball was played. 

Casey is gone, but Casey's Court remains — musty with age, majestic 
in size, a monument to handball. 

THE DUNNES. 

Probably nobody has done more for handball than the Dunne fam- 
ily of Brooklyn — Alderman James Dunne and his son. Judge James 
Dunne, Jr. It was the elder Dunne who made all of the international 
matches possible, from Casey and Lawlor down to the last one in 
1909 between Kelly and Bowles. He was a remarkable player himself, 
and with Casey as a partner toured Ireland as well as America, and 
w^ere never defeated in all the years they played together. 

Dunne was also a boxer of note in his youth and at one time was 
regarded as the heavyweight champion of the world. 

The elder Dunne died in 1914, but his son, who is now a judge in 
Brooklyn, was as ardent a devotee of the game as his father and, "like 
father like son," James, Jr., won the amateur handball championship 
of America also. He was in the same class ^vith. such players as 
Eagan, Drew, Casey, Kelly and "Con" Cashman, and played many 
matches with them. The judge, whose club affiliation is the famous 
Crescent Athletic Club of Brooklyn, which is a hotbed of handball, 
still frequents Casey's court, however, and most any Sunday gives a 
demonstration of the fact that he still retains much of his oldtime 
wizardry and skill. 

The Dunnes w-ere purely amateur sportsmen and played the game 
for the love of it — and a greater love hath no man. 



58 Spalding^ s Athletic Library 



The first to lay claim to the American championship was Bernard 
McQuade, who presided over one or two of the best courts ever built 
in New York. He won the title in a match with Tom Cook at the old 
stamping ground at the junction of Madison and Grand Streets, and 
defended it until Phil Casey took it away from him in 1868. 

William Courtney, Con Cashman, Jim Burke, John Manix, Oliver 
Drew, Tierney O'Rourke, M. A. Tarrant, Tim Twohill, O'Herlihy and 
others are names interwoven with the growth of the game. Courtney 
could play a remarkable game at the age of seventy, and Tierney 
O'Rourke, who is now in his fifties, can give anybody ten years and 
ten points. 

MICHAEL EAGAN. 

Eagan followed Casey, and many regard him as the greatest player 
who ever lived. 

Eagan was born in County Galway, Ireland, in 1874, and interested 
himself in the game soon after his arrival in this country in 1894. 
He practised steadily at the Jersey City court, which was owned by 
his brother, John Eagan, and in a very short time became so experi 
that everyone who saw him play pronounced him a wonder. His 
friends endeavored to match him against James Dunne of Brooklyn, 
the amateur champion, but all efforts to bring them together failed. 
It was then that the Amateur Athletic Union stepped into the breach 
and arranged the first handball tournament, in 1897, which resulted 
in Eagan's success. He was a rapid player and relied on hard driving 
more than to placing the ball to win the aces. An opponent needed 
a surprising amount of strength in order to stand the strain of the 
young champion. 

Eagan won the world's championship from Tim Twohill, champion 
of Ireland, in 1903. It was to be the best eight games of fifteen, 
seven to be played in Jersey City and the remainder in Kanturk. 
Ireland. The first series took place in this country and Eagan won 
all seven with ease. Later, in Kanturk. he took the necessary eighth 
game in decisive fashion, winning the title and a purse of $1,500. 

The young champion defended his title in all parts of the country 
until about 1906, when his health failed and he was compelled to 
retire. He was never beaten. He is now a resident of Saranac Lake, 
N. Y., where the climate has done wonders for him. 

JAMES KELLY. 

James Kelly, the present hard-ball champion of the world, came 
from Kiltimaugh, County Mayo, Ireland, but learned handball in this 
country. 

Kelly has been champion for the last thirteen years, having won the 
title from John Bowles, the champion of Ireland, in 1909. It was a 



Spalding^ s Athletic Library 



59 



home-and-home match, similar to the Eagan-Twohill contest, and 
Kelly won five out of seven in Limerick and clinched the champion^ 
ship by winning three straight in Casey's court, Brooklyn, a month 
later. 

Kelly has red hair, long arms, a remarkable left hand, and a 
"Scotch Toss" serve — an unbeatable combination. He is a true 
master of the game, a marvel of strategy and style, and his play is a 
delight to the eye. 

The champion's closest rival is Joe Heney, a young product of the 
famous old Casey's court. Kelly and Heney will unquestionably 
secure a place on the American team which goes to Ireland next year 
to take part in the hard-ball championships of the Tailteann Games in 
Dublin. James Pembroke, the present champion of Ireland, has been 
entered as the Irish representative against them. The winner of 
these games may well call himself the champion of the world. 



All the Credit to Handball. 

(Condensed from an article in Physical Culture Magazine.) 

"When the Capitol Theater, one of the largest in the world, was completed in 
New York in 1919, ^Managing Director Edward Bowes was convinced that there was 
just one man in the United States who could help him fill it — S. L. Rothafel. His 
success is history. Mr. Rothafel works an average of sixteen hours a day, seven days 
a week. He is nearly always at the theater, except for two hours nearly every 
weekday morning, when he plays handball. Director Rothafel says it was handball 
that taught him his most important life lessons. 

"Handball has taught me the biggest lesson in life," Mr. Rothafel 
said. 

"What's that?" I ask. 

"To try for every ball ! At first you can't reach many. They come too 
swift, or too high or too low ; but if you try for them all, first thing you 
know you are reaching a lot of balls that you never thought you could 
touch. And if you keep on trying pretty soon you find that you seldom 
miss one! If I hadn't learned that I could never put on a new" show 
every week. On .Monday there are too many things that don't seem 
possible to do in a week. But somehow, w^hen we try, they nearly 
always seem to work out. 

"And it was handball that taught me the importance of second 
wind, too. Did you ever stop to think that the winning is always 
done after the first wind crowd is through? You can't do much of 
anything until you get acquainted with your second w^ind." 

And there develops Director Rothafel's working philosophy and 
the secret of his almost unlimited capacity for accomplishment: 
thanks to handball, he is thoroughly acquainted with his second wind, 
and he tries for every ball! 



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Handball the World Over. 




Handball, in various forms and under various 
names, is the national game of many countrieG. 

Ireland, of course, is the home of handball as 
we know it in this country. The game was 
brought over here directly from the Ould Sod. 
However, there are other peoples across the 
water who play a form of handball that only 
differs slightly from the game played in Ireland 
i^iimmm. ^'^B and this country. 

I I Handball is the national game of Spain, and 
I fl was probably played in that country long before 
it was known to the Irish. In Spain — particu- 
larly in the Basque country — and part of France, 
handball has been flourishing for centuries. It 
is called Pelota a Mains Nues, which means 
"naked hand ball," but is generally referred to 
as "pelota." There are several variations of 
pelota; some games are played on a one-wall 
court, two walls, and four walls. The four-wall 
game is the official game, and is played on a 
court 80 feet long. 

Some forms of pelota require the use of the 
cesta, a curved basketwork arrangement worn on 
the hand with which the ball is played. 
Pelota is the national game of Cuba and many of the South 
American countries, particularly those that were settled by the 
Spanish. 

In Cuba the game is called "Jai-AIai," or "merry game," where 
it has grown in favor in the same fashion that baseball has gro\\Ti 
in this country. It is a professional game chiefly and in Havana, 
where it has reached its greatest popularity, there is a court, or 
fronton, as it is called, erected at a cost of over $500,000, which 
seats 5,000 persons. 

The game is played in a fronton. Each one is known by a 
special name. The one at Havana is said to be the most important 
in the world. 

The court of playing ground (cancha) is a rectangle 210 feet 
long and 36 feet wide, paved with cement. The front, rear and side 
walls are of granite blocks, laid with the greatest care. On the front 
wall (frontis) three narrow strips of thin metal are fastened, one 



EMILIO EQUILUZ. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



61 



parallel to the floor, 3 feet 3 inches above it; the second, parallel to 
the first, 36 feet higher. The third is a vertical band connecting 
the outer ends of the other two. 

The back wall (pared de rehote) is provided with two metal 
strips, laid in the same position as the second and third strips on 
the front wall. The side wall {pared izquierda) has a single hori- 
zontal strip running the entire length of the court at a height of 
39 feet 3 inches above the floor. 

These metal strips limit the space within which the ball, when 
in play, must strike to be considered fair. Any ball touching any 
of the metal strips, or striking the front wall below the lower strip, 
or the front or rear walls outside of the vertical strips, or any of 
the three walls above the upper strips, is considered foul, and the 
side guilty of the fault loses one point, which is credited to its 
opponent. There are other somewhat complicated arrangements: 

The floor of the court is divided into equal spaces, or blocks, 
twelve feet wide, indicated by vertical lines on the side wall. 
These lines are numbered consecutively from the front wall to the 
rear. At the fourth and seventh block marks lines are drawn 
across the floor. These lines limit the space of floor within which 
the ball, when served against the front wall at the beginning of 
play, must strike in order to be fair. Of these two lines. No. 4 is 
called the fault-line and No. 7 the pass-line. 

To start the game, the server drops the ball on the floor at the 
designated service line, catching it on the bound in his peculiar 
basket (cesta) , and throwing it against the front wall. If the ball, 
in rebounding after hitting the wall, strikes the floor on or short of 
the fault-line a foul is called and the serving side loses the point, 
which goes to the opponent. 

When the ball strikes the floor on or beyond the pass-line the 
service is no good and the server may repeat the play. A second 
pass amounts to a fault and loses the point to the serving side. If 
the served ball strikes the floor between the fault-line and the pass- 
line, the service is good. 

The receiving side must then take the ball on or before the first 
bound and return it to the front wall. A ball so returned may, on 
rebounding from the front wall, to be good, strike the floor of the 
court or the side or the back wall at any point within the spaces 
limited by the metal strips; otherwise the point is lost. The opposing 
side must then take the ball on or before its first bound from the 
floor and return it to the front wall. Failure to return the ball timely 
and properly or retaining it in the cesta longer than necessary is 
considered a fault and the guilty side loses the point. After catching 
the ball the player must return it to the front wall immediately and 
without shifting the position of his arms or body. The breaking of 
this rule is a fault. 



62 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



The champion is Emilio Equiluz, who is featured like a motion 
picture star and receives a salary that compares with Babe Ruth's. 

The English play handball under the name of "Fives," so-called, 
undoubtedly from the five fingers of the hand. 

Every school and college is equipped with a fives court; Eton, for 
instance, has forty of them. However, the game is not played exten- 
sively except by schoolboys. 

A fives court has three walls — front and two sides. It also has a 
step down at the short line, leaving the front court about six inches 
higher than the back court. The usual rubber ball is used and the 
scoring is about the same. 

The Italians play handball with a small paddle on the right hand. 



Strenuous Sport. 

That boxing is by no means the most strenuous sport is the opinion 
of the men who follow that profession. Willie Ritchie, the one-time 
lightweight champion, declares that handball is far more strenuous 
than boxing. He says that he is more exhausted after a hard match 
in the court than he was after his most desperate battles in the ring, 
and Ritchie was not a pink tea performer. He went the long route 
many times and generally took a severe beating before he managed to 
win out. 



The ball always seems to come to a good player — but a poor player 
has to go get it. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



63 



Alley Ball in the Mining Regions of 
Dear Rip: Pennsylvania. 

I wonder if you would think it of interest to write in the Spalding 
book about the one-wall game known as Alley Ball and played in the 
mining districts of Pennsylvania, particularly around Wilkes Barre 
and Scranton? There are two great players named Gorman and 
Wynne, of Inkerman. ^vho have not been beaten at this game in a 
dozen years. About ten years ago Groden and a partner met and lost 




to these two players at Inkerman. In 1918 KeUy and McElroy, of 
Casey's court, also lost to them, while on last Labor Day McDonough 
and myself traveled to Wilkes Barre and lost to them also. There 
must have been a thousand spectators at our match. The court is 
laid out on a level sandlot and takes up as much playing space as a 
baseball diamond. The front wall is 35 feet high and 30 feet ^dde, 
and the side lines — instead of running at right angles to it — shoot 
outward at a much wider angle until at a distance of 75 feet from the 
wall they are 100 feet apart. There is no ''over'" line, and the ball is 
often played back 100 feet. 

Handball, as we know it. is more or less a "killing" game, but 
as these miners play it is just the opposite. Their game is to keep 
the ball high on the wall and tire out the other fellow. 

Yours, truly, 

OwE.x Brady. 



64 



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Wholesale Handball. 

The handball layout at the Brighton Beach Baths is the largest in 
the country. It contains no less than twenty courts, and there is no 
time of the day that every one is not occupied. The playing time is 
not limited on weekdays, but on Saturdays and Sundays the waiting 
list is so long that players are held to half-hour periods, and request 
is made that only doubles be played. 




Scene at the Handball Section of the Brighton Beach Baths, 
Coney Island. 



Play on these courts on Sunday starts about eight o'clock in the 
morning and continues for twelve hours. This makes twenty-four 
playing periods during the day. Four men playing on each of the 
twenty courts every half hour makes a total of eighty handball swat- 
ters in action every thirty minutes, and this number multiplied by 24 
means that almost two thousand men use the one-wall courts at 
Brighton on a Sunday. 

Handball is rapidly attaining a place as a major sport in America. 
Interest in the ancient Irish game is increasing apace, and it is a 
matter of a short time when handball will be as popular with the 
masses as is tennis and golf. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



65 



Handball the Oldest of All Games 
Played with a Ball. 

By Robert L. Ripley. 

Handball is the oldest game played with a ball — and its origin is 
coeval with the invention of a sphere — and that, of course, is thou- 
sands of years old. 

A ball is an instinctive source of amusement. A ball will amuse 
an animal, a baby, or a man. It is the most natural thing in the 
world to slap a ball with the hand — and that is the principle of hand- 
ball. 

Herodotus attributes the invention of ball play to the Lydians, and 




Princess Anagcdla, the First Handball Player. 

it is amusing to note that the first handball player of which there is 
any record was a woman! 

Princess Anagalla of Corcyra may truly be said to have been the 
first handball player. Homer introduces the princess, with her 
maidens, amusing themselves at handball: 

"O'er the green mead the sporting virgins play. 
Their shining veils unbound: along the skies, 
Tost and retost, the ball incessant flies." — Odyssey. 

Homer writes of handball as being played only by women and that 
it was a popular game at the time of the destruction of Troy. 

A form of handball made its appearance in England and Europe in 
the thirteenth century — that is, we first find mention of it during that 
period. The game is called by the French Jeu de Paume, or palm- 



66 



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play, because, says the author, originally "this exercise consisted in 
receiving the ball and driving it back again with the palm of the 
hand." In former times they played wath the naked hand, then with 
a glove, which in some instances was lined. Afterward they bound 
cords round their hands to make the ball rebound more forcibly, and 
hence the modern tennis racket derived its origin. 

During the reign of Charles V. handball was exceedingly fashion- 
able and popular and often played by the nobility for large sums of 
money. A French writer speaks of a ]\iademoiselle Margot, who resided 
in Paris in 1424 and played handball better with the back of her 
hand than any man could with his palm. 



However, it was the Irish who really made the game of handball 
what it is today. Irish authors even trace the game back to a thou- 
sand years before the Christian Era at the Tailteann Games inau- 
gurated by Ers, the last king of the Firbolgs. 

Be that as it may, it was the Irish who brought the -game to America 
about fifty years ago, and today they remain the leading exponents 
of the game. The names of McQuade, Phil Casey, Alderman Dunne, 
and his son. Judge Dunne, Cashman, Courtney, and Mike Eagan are 
spoken with reverence by all Irishmen. They were the pioneers of 
the game in America. 

Today handball is the fastest growing game in this country, and in 
its various forms handball is the national game of Ireland, Spain 
(pelota), Italy (Givoco della Palla), and Cuba (Jai Alai). 




DRAWN 

fROM A PICTORE IN AM 
OLp AN U SCRIPT OF 

The iv± cenTvirv 
oldest p\ctji-c 
o;h^ndb4k(l m the 



PART III 



Official Playing Rules 

AS ADOPTED BY THE 

Amateur Athletic Union of the United States 

FOR 

FOUR-WALL AND ONE -WALL PLAY 



The first amateur championship tournament 
in the history of handball in America was held 
by the Amateur Athletic Union at the Jersey 
City Handball Court, 223 Mercer Street, January 
7 and 8, 1897, and was won by Michael Eagan. 
It established handball prominently in this 
country and developed an interest in the sport 
that resulted in handball being introduced in 
organizations whose knowledge of the game was 
remote previous to the adoption of rules by 
the A.A.U. 



INCLUDING RULES FOR THE 

IRISH OR HARD-BALL GAME 

AND 

Instructions for Building 
Handball Courts 



--2.4- FEET 

FR0r4T WALL 25 FE^T HlQH 



5£:r^^ice lime 



to 



BACK WALL 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



69 



Official Handball Rules of the Amateur 
Athletic Union of the United States. 

Rule 1. Standard courts shall be four walls of approximately 24 
feet by 48 feet in size. The ceilings shall be at least 25 feet at the 
front wall. The building and use of standard courts is advised, 
although for the time being championships may be held on courts 
of other sizes and of less than four walls. 

Rule 2. Ball shall be standard rubber handball. (Spalding's No. 
101 ball is used in the national championship tournaments.) 

Rule 3. Twenty-one points shall constitute a game. 

Rule 4. First service shall be determined by the toss of a coin 
or in any other manner agreed by the contestants. 

Rule 5. If the players cannot agree upon a ball a new ball shall 
be selected by the referee. 

Rule 6. In serving, the ball must be bounced on the floor and 

struck on the first bounce. Missing the ball puts the server out. 

The server has the privilege of several attempts at bouncing the ball 
before serving. 

Rule 7. The server must stand between the short line and the 

service line before commencing his service and must not step over 
the service line while serving. 

Rule 8. Stepping over the service line while serving shall be 
counted as a short ball. Doing so twice in succession shall be 
counted a hand out. 

Rule 9. Three short balls in succession shall count as a hand out. 

Rule 10. Hitting the ceiling, floor or side walls before the front 
wall while serving counts as a hand out. 

Rule 11. Catching or stopping the ball on the service before it 
hits the floor counts as a hand out. 



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Rule 12. It is optional with a player to accept a short ball; if a 
short ball is attempted it becomes a fair ball. 

Rule 13. The server or his partner may stop a short ball after it 
touches the floor and before it has been touched by the opposing side. 

Rule 14. While his partner is serving a player should stand be- 
tween the lines with his back to the wall and while in this position it 
does not count as a hand out if he is struck by a served ball. 

Rule 15. After the service the ball must be returned to the front 
wall before hitting the floor. Hitting the floor and front wall at the 
same time counts as a miss. The front wall must be hit first. 

Rule 16. If the outside fails to return the ball it counts as a tally 
for the side serving. If the server fails to return the adversar>-*s play, 
it counts as a hand out. 

Rule 17. If a ball hits an adversary on the way to the front wall 
and afterwards reaches the front wall before touching the floor, it is 
in play. All balls striking players on the return are hinders or points. 

Rule 18. If a ball, before it is dead, touches a player on the way 
back from the front wall, it loses the point for the player touched 
and the ball is immediately out of play. 

Rule 19. Hitting a partner with a ball immediately puts the ball 
out of play and loses the point for that side except during the service 
when the partner is standing between the lines with his back to the 
wall. The man serving the ball in four handed match is the man who 
is supposed to play inside the lines at all times. 

Rule 20. Every player is entitled to a free and unobstructed oppor- 
tunity to play the ball. If he is interfered with unintentionally it is 
called a hinder and is played over. 

Rule 21. When, in the opinion of the referee, a player is hindered 
intentionally he should decide that point against the offending player. 

Rule 22. In doubles, both players on a side are entitled to a fair 
and unobstructed chance at the ball and either one is entitled to a 
decision on a hinder, even though it naturally would be his partner's 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



71 



ball and notwithstanding the fact that his partner may be attempting 
to play the ball or that he may already have missed it. 

The referee should be liberal in rendering decisions under this 
rule so as to discourage any practice of playing the ball where an 
adversary cannot see it until too late to get into position and it is no 
excuse that the ball is "killed dead" or that the adversary "could not 
get it." He is entitled to a chance to try and in the absence of this 
chance is entitled to the decision. 

Rule 23. It is the duty of the side that has played the ball to 
keep out of the way of the side that is playing and under no circum- 
stances shall a player be forced to run around an adversary in order 
to reach the ball. Hinders when claimed should generally be allowed 
unless clearly in the opinion of the referee there was no hinder. 

Rule 24. It is the duty of the referee to decide all hinders and 
covered balls without being appealed to by the players as it is often 
distasteful to a player to make claims especially in close cases, and 
failure to claim a hinder or covered ball does not relieve the referee 
from the duty of rendering a decision. 

Rule 25. A player may not claim a hinder when interfered with 
by his partner. 

Rule 26. In doubles it is customary to serve to the adversaries 
alternately but this is not compulsory. 

Rule 27. Kicking the ball is not allowed. 

Rule 28. During a play the ball may not be played by a player 
after it has been touched either by his partner or by himself. 

Rule 29. In all match games there should be a referee and score 
keeper who should sit next to the referee. 

Rule 30. During tournament or match play, lea\-ing the court 
without consent of adversary forfeits the series unless excused by the 
referee. 

Rule 31. After the completion of a rally both players shall bf 
allowed a reasonable time to get in position, after which the referee 



72 



Spalding^ s Athletic Library 



may call play. If the server fails to serve the ball after play is called 
the referee or other player may count ten as nearly as possible 
at the rate of one count per second and if the ball is not served before 
the completion of the count the server shall be declared out. 

Rule 32. The referee's decision is final. 

Rule 33. Any player refusing to abide by the decision of referee 
forfeits the match. 

Rule 34. Hands or fingers may be covered, but only with soft 
material or soft gloves of kid or cloth. No hard material shall be used 
on any part of either hand. 

Rule 35. Drawings shall be held immediately before the contest 
and the method of drawing shall be the same as prescribed in Boxing 
rules. (See A.A.U. Official Handbook — Spalding's Athletic Library.) 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



73 



SUGGESTED RULE CHANGES. 

The rapid advance of the game of handball necessitates a few 
changes in the rules. 

The Editor has noted the opinions of players from all parts of the 
country — particularly during the national championships in Milwau- 
kee — and the consensus seems to be that the Amateur Athletic Union 
should seriously consider the following changes in the rules governing 
the game: 

1. Tico short halls shall constitute a hand out. 

2. Ball hitting ceiling before floor on serve to he dead and 

called a short hall. 

3. All halls hitting opponent to he dead — irrespective of the 

fact that it may reach front ivoll. 

4. No interference ivith the serve on the part of the server. 

A short ball shall not be either stopped or played. 

5. In doubles play the service should alternate to each 

opponent. 

6. Hinder shall not he allowed on a ball that had no chance 

to reach front ivaLl. If there should he any doubt, ref- 
eree should call the play a hinder, hoivever. 

7. Server must stand between short line and service line and 

not overstep either line in serving. 

The Editor of the Handball Guide will be pleased to receive any 
ideas or suggestions that will be beneficial to the game. Address 
Robert L. Ripley, Editor Spalding's Official Handball Guide, 45 Rose 
Street, New York. 































m 



MURRAY VERXOX, 
Crescent A.C., Brooklyn. 
York State One- Wall Champion. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



75 



A.A.U. One-Wall Rules. 

{Adopted at Annual Meeting, November 20, 1922.) 

Rule 1. Standard one- wall courts shall be approximately 20 feet 
in width by 34 feet in length and the wall to be 16 feet in height. 
The short line to be at least 13 feet from the board. 

Rule 2. Ball to be standard rubber handball, Spalding No. 101, or 
similar thereto. 

Rule 3. Twenty-one points shall constitute a game. 

Rule 4. First service shall be determined by the toss of a coin, 
or in any other manner agreed by the contestants. 

Rule 5. If the players cannot agree upon a ball a new ball shall 
be selected by the referee. 

Rule 6. In serving, the ball must be bounced on the floor within 
the square formed by the two side lines, the short and the rear 
line, and struck on the first bounce. Missing the ball puts the server 
out. The server has the privilege of several attempts at bouncing the 
-ball before serving. 

Rule 7. The server must stand between the short line and the back 
line before commencing his service. Avith at least one foot between 
the side lines, and must not step over the short line while serving. 
Stepping over the short line while serving (or serving with both feet 
outside of the court) shall be counted a fault the same as a short or 
long ball. Doing so twice in succession shall be counted a hand out. 

Rule 8. The server must serve the ball so that it will first strike 
the board and bounce from the board inside of the square formed 
by the two side lines, the short line and the rear line. 

Rule 9. Two short balls in succession, or two long balls in succes- 
sion, or a short ball and a long ball in succession, shall count as a 
hand out. 

Rule 10. One ball served outside of the side line shall count as 
a hand out. 

Rule 11. Hitting the ceiling, floor or any other part of the room 
before the front wall while serving counts as a hand out. 




1, "Doc" Kelton; 2, Buxhaum; 3, Willie O'Hara, Van Kelton Courts; 
4, M. Hurley; 5, Robert Powers, Crescent A.C., Brooklyn, N. Y., State 
Doubles Champion, 1922. 
ONE-WALL STARS OF THE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



11 



Rule 12. If either side catches or stops the ball on the service, or 
play before it hits the floor, it counts as a hand out or a point 
against the offending side. 

Rule 13. The receiver cannot play a short nor a long ball. The 
server or his partner may stop a short ball after it touches the floor 
and before it has been touched by the opposing side. 

Rule 14. While his partner is serving, the player must stand out- 
side of the court and must not enter the court until the ball having 
hit the board has returned past the short line. 

Rule 15. The receiver may strike the ball in returning same on 
the fly or on the first bounce. 

Rule 16. After the receiver strikes the ball, it must return to the 
front wall before hitting the floor and bound back into the court 
between the side lines, the board and rear line. If the receiver 
fails to hit the front wall first and returns the ball so it bounces 
within the limit of the court, it shall be counted as a point for the 
server. 

Rule 17. If the receiver fails to return the ball it counts as a tally 
for the side serving. If the server fails to return the adversary's 
play, it counts as a hand out and the side loses the serve. 

Rule 18. If a player strikes the ball and it hits an adversary 
before striking the floor or the front wall, the ball is dead and the 
point must be played over. 

Rule 19. If a ball before it is dead touches a player on the way 
back from the front wall, it loses the point for the player touched 
and the ball is immediately out of play. 

Rule 20. Hitting a partner with the ball immediately puts the 
ball out of play and loses the point for that side. 

Rule 21. If a player is interfered with unintentionally by his 
opponent, he may claim a hinder and the point shall be played over. 

Rule 22. A player being interfered with in playing the ball by an 
opponent may claim a hinder, unless his opponent after having 
played the ball shall have stood still, in which case no hinder shall be 
allowed. 

Rule 23. In doubles both players on a side are entitled to a fair 
and unobstructed chance at the ball and either one is entitled to a 



Spalding's Athletic Library 79 

decision on a hinder, even though it might be the partner's ball and 
notAvithstanding that the partner may be attempting to play the ball 
or that he may have already missed it. 

Rule 24. When, in the opinion of the referee, a player is hindered 
intentionally he should decide that point against the offending 
player. 

Rule 25. It is the duty of th? referee to decide all hinders without 
being appealed to by the players as it is often distasteful to a player 
to make claim, especially in close cas:s. and failure to claim a hinder 
does not relieve the referee from the duty of rendering a decision. 

Rule 26. During a play the ball may not be played by a player 
after it has been touched either by a partner or by himself. 

Rule 27. A player may not claim a hinder when interfered with by 
his partner. 

Rule 28. Kicking the ball is not allowed. 

Rule 29. In all match games there should be a linesman, a referee 
and scorekeeper, who should sit next to the referee. 

Rule 30. During tournament or match play, leaving the court 
without consent of adversary forfeits the series unless excused by the 
referee. 

Rule 31. After a completion of a rally both players shall be 
allowed a reasonable time to get in position, after which the referee 
may call play. If the server fails to serve the ball after play is called 
the referee may count ten as nearly as possible at the rate of one 
count per second and if the ball is not served before the completion 
of the count the server shall be declared out. 

Rule 32. The referee's decision is final. 

Rule 33. Any player refusing to abide by the decision of referee 
forfeits the match. 

Rule 34. Drawings may be made either 48 or 72 hours before the 
scheduled time of the contest and the method of dra^\-ing shall be 
the same as prescribed in the A.A.U. boxing rules. (See A.A.U. 
Official Handbook — Spalding's Athletic Library. ) 

Rule 35. If the ball strikes the ceiling or other obstructions either 
in going or coming from the front wall, it shall be counted as a point 
against the player who struck the ball. 



80 



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Rules for Irish Handball or the Hard-Ball 

Game. 

Following will be found the rules of the Gaelic Athletic Association 
of Ireland. They differ mainly from those in vogue in America. 
Under the Irish rules 15 aces constitutes a game instead of 21, and 
in tossing the ball the server can assume any position he pleases 
inside of the short line. The Gaelic rules were framed with a view 
to govern matches in all sizes and shapes of alleys and courts, and 
subject to all conditions and circumstances imaginable. In Ireland, 
as a rule, impromptu matches are played against the nearest gable 
end or wall without regard to size, and it is to cover such contests 
as well as those in the regulation alley that the Gaelic rules were 
drafted. 

THE COURT OR AULEY. 

Rule 1. A line called the short line must be drawn parallel to 
the front wall, not nearer to it than half the length, nor further from 
it than two-thirds of the length of the floor. 

Note — For alleys or courts with a clay floor the short lines should 
be two-thirds of the length from the short wall, but for concrete, 
flagged, or bricked floors the short line should be nearer the center. 

Rule 2. A line should be drawn at the extreme edge of the floor, 
if there be no back wall, six feet from the boundary, to keep off 
spectators, and parallel to the front wall. This line to be called 
the over line. 

Rule 3. Where there are no side walls, or where the side walls 
do not extend to the over line, lines should be drawn from the 
ends of the front wall or side wall to the extremities of the over lines. 
These lines to be called side lines. 

Rule 4. A floor should be 60 feet long, or as near to it as pos- 
sible. A tell-board four inches high should be placed at the base 
of the front wall. A ball striking the tell-board should be considered 
as striking the floor. The upper edge of the tell-board should be 
beveled. 



Spalding s Athletic Library 



81 



THE BALLS. 

Rule 5. The balls to be hard and covered with sheepskin or any 
suitable kind of leather. No ball to be less than one and a half or 
more than one and three-quarter ounces in weight. 

THE PLAY. 

Rule 6. A game to consist of fifteen aces, and to be won by 
whichever player or team gets this number. 

Rule 7. A rubber may consist of any odd number of games, and 
. w411 be won by whichever gains the greater number of games. 

Rule 8. A "home and home" rubber to be played in the two 
alleys or courts belonging to the challenged and challenging players 
— as many games as may be agreed on to be played in the one alley 
or court, and the remainder or a sufficient number of games to decide 
the rubber in the second alley or court. 

Rule 9. Before commencing a rubber the opposing players shall 
toss for choice of inside or outside ground. One "hand" shall be 
given for first innings of every game; two "hands" for second and 
succeeding innings, if there be two players on each side; and three 
"hands" for third and succeeding innings if there be three players 
on each side. When one game is finished the winners will have 
choice of ground. 

Rule 10. All balls served out from the front wall to the outside 
must be tossed — that is, hopped and struck with the hand against the 
front wall. Jerking not to be allowed in inter-alley, championship, 
or inter-county matches. 

Rule 1L An ace to count when an outside player misses a ball, 
fails to return one which has been tossed out or played to him, 
or makes a "foul." A "hand out" to count when an inside player 
misses a ball, fails to return one which has been played to him, or 
makes a "foul." 

Rule 12. Touching a ball to be considered as playing to it; 
should it be played to a second time by the player who struck it, 
or his partner, before reaching the front wall, it shall be foul, and 



82 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



count as an ace or hand out. Playing to a ball on the second 
succeeding hop to be fuul. and an ace or hand out. 

Rule 13. Should a player catch, or deliberately stop a ball going 
to the front ^vall. a hand out or ace should be given according as 
the offender is an inside or outside player. 

Rule 14. A ball which crosses the side line or side wall will be 
an ace or hand out, according as the player who last played to it 
is an inside or outside player, ^'hen a ball crossing the side line 
be struck at and missed before it hops, an ace shall be given against 
the player who missed it. If the ball has hopped, and the player is 
not sure whether it is inside the line or not. he should call for 
judgment, and proceed as in Rule 23. 

Rule 15. Should a player strike a ball and it go up off his 
partner it is foul, and shall count as an ace or hand out. Should a 
player strike at a ball with both hands together it is foul. 

SERVICE. 

Rule 16. The partner or partners of the player who is serving 
must stand at side line or side wall and inside the short line until 
the ball is served. 

Rule 17. No ball to be tossed out until the outside players are in 
position outside the short line. The judge may disallow any ball 
tossed out before the outside players are prepared, or while a ques- 
tion of judgment is being decided. 

Rule 18. If the player who is serving tosses the ball over the 
side line or side wall, it will be a hand out. Should he fail to toss 
three successive balls between the short and over lines it wiU be a 
hand out. Should he strike the ball against the ground, the side 
wall, or his own person ere striking the front wall, it ^ill be a hand 
out. Should he miss the ball when tossing it will be a hand out. 
Should he jerk the ball it will be a hand out. A ball hopping on 
a line to be over that line. 

Rule 19. All balls tossed out between the short and over line 
must be played to unless they have touched the player who ser%'ed 
them or his partner after leaving the front wall, or unless the judge 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



83 



disallows them. Should the partner of the player who is serving 
prevent a ball crossing the side line it will be foul. 

Rule 20. Should the player who is tossing, or his partner, catch 
the ball before it hops a second time, it will be a hand out. Should 
the outside player catch a ball before it hops a second time, unless 
he be standing four feet outside the over line, it will be an ace. 

HINDERS. 

Rule 21. Should a player strike a ball and it afterwards strike 
his opponent, it shall be a hinder, and must be played over. 

Rule 22. Should a ball coming from the front wall strike the 
player who put it up. or his partner, it is a hinder. 

Rule 23. Should a player, while the ball is in play, think that 
a foul has occurred, he must call for judgment and play on. When 
the ball has been played out the judge will decide if a foul ha? 
occurred, and give his decision accordingly. Should no foul have 
taken place the result of the play will count. The judge may, if he 
wishes, declare an ace or hand out when a foul occurs without 
waiting for the ball to be played out. 

Rule 24. Should a player obstruct another in such a manner that 
he cannot play, the judge may give a hinder. Should the obstruc- 
tion be wilful, the judge may give an ace or hand out against the 
offender. 

Rule 25. Any ball brought off the front wall in play to or beyond 
the over line shall count dead and be played over. 

Rule 26. When a ball is over or short the player may, or may 
not, as he pleases, play to it. Should he try to play to it and miss, 
it will be an ace. Should he call "over" or "short," and put the 
ball up, it will be dead and must be played over. 

Rule 27. In a court, a ball brought off front wall in play over 
back wall shall be dead and shall be played over. 

Rule 28. The decision of the judge to be final. 



84 Spalding's Athletic Library 



Phraseology of Handball. 

Get — A return of a shot that should have scored for the player ^s'ho 
made it: a difficult return. 

Dead Ball — A returning hall that strikes an opposition player. 

Rally — A rapid returning of the ball by both sides, without advantage 
to either, for a period of one or more minutes. 

Killed ball — A scoring shot so low that the resultant bounce is barely 
perceptible. 

Ace — A point scored by a shot that the opposition failed to touch. 

Error — Any ball that the player can and does touch legally, but fails 
to return to the board. 

Fluke — Any extraordinary shot that was palpably not intended by the 
player who mad? it. 

Safety — A shot made from a weak position that prevents what looked 
like a sure score for the opposition. 

Shading the line — Any shot that follows close to or upon either side 
line in one-wall handbalL 

Serve — One ball served from serving position. 

Service — A number of consecutive serves by the same player. 

Toss — A serve. 

Hinder — Interference by an opponent which prevents a fair chance to 
play the ball. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



85 



How to Construct a Court. 

By Arthur C. Lyons of the J. C. Lyons Sons Co., Builders, 
New York City. 

The size of the regulation handball court is 24 feet wide, 50 feet 
long and 24 feet high. It is important that a handball court should 
be standard in construction as well as in size. This insures a uni- 
formity in play and regulation of game. However, construction of 
courts varies according to structural conditions. The following sug- 
gestions apply particularly to an outdoor court: 

The FLOOR SHOULD ALWAYS BE OF WOOD AND NOT 
CEMENT, and have a slight pitch of Vs inch to the foot, to allow 
water to drain off. This is important. 

The floor is to be built up of bevelled 3x4 chestnut sleepers, laid 
12 inches on centers. Between these sleepers fill in with cinder con- 
crete to hold same securely in place. Over these sleepers nail a 
% X 6 inch North Carolina pine underflooring, laid diagonally. On 
top of this underflooring lay a 1% x % inch tongue and grooved Cali- 
fornia fir flooring, selected with no grain. This is to be laid with the 
joints filled with white lead and properly waterproofed with A. C. 
Horn Company wood preservative. Such a floor will stand severe 
winter weather. 

The walls should be constructed as follows: Angle iron uprights, 
4 inches x 4 inches, are placed 10 feet on centers, securely fastened to 
existing construction running the full height of the court; across these 
securely fasten, every 2 feet, inch by inch angles. To these are 
bolted % inch strips, 12 inches on centers, over which galvanized 
iron wire lath is placed. The walls are then built up of three coats 
of cement-mortar, mixed one-half part cement to one and one-half 
part sand for the first two coats and the finishing coat of one part 
sand and one part cement, traweled to a very hard finish. All this 
cement work is waterproofed with A. C. Horn Company waterproofing 
concrete mixture. 

The roof is constructed of 3 x 10 inch wood beams, 10 feet on cen- 
ters, properly bridged and braced, over which heavy wire mesh is 
placed to prevent balls from leaving the court. 

The rear wall is built 10 feet high, and the side walls and front waU 
are full height of the court. 

The cement walls should then be painted with A. C. Horn Company 
waterproof paint in a light grey color. 

In the center of the rear wall a small door should be placed, with 
lock flush with the face of the door. 

The cost of a first class court of the best workmanship and materials 
varies from |5,000 to $6,000, according to conditions. A court so 
constructed will be absolutely dry several hours after the severest rain. 




PLAN OF ONE-WALL HANDBALL COURT. 



Spalding^s Athletic Library 



87 



How to Construct a One-Wall Court. 

By James I. Brokaw.* 

One-wall handball courts out of doors should be constructed as fol- 
lows: Chestnut posts 6 inches square. 16 feet long, placed 5 feet 
apart — that is, four posts — and 6 feet in the ground or in concrete; 
across the posts, 1 foot apart, strips of white pine 1 inch thick and 3 
inches wide should be nailed horizontally ; on the strips boards of white 
pine 1 inch thick, not over 6 inches wide, tongued and grooved, 
finished both sides, should be nailed vertically; here put on one coat 
of good filler paint, both sides. Where it is intended to build a series 
of courts this construction should continue without a break, to provide 
the desired number of courts together with the field of each. 

To complete the playing board, boards 2 inches wide, 1 inch thick, 
finished both sides, tongued and grooved, should be nailed horizon- 
tally to the vertical boards the exact width and height of the board, or 
12 feet wide by 10 feet high, making lines on the board unnecessary, 
thereby removing a fruitful cause of disputes and arguments, for in 
playing the whole board, if the ball misses the board, it strikes a dif- 
ferent structure, makes a different sound and that ends it. The board 
should then be painted with one coat of filler and two coats of white 
paint and when dirty should be washed, but no more paint added 
until the original paint is washed too thin to give a uniform color. 

The rear of the board and continuing structure should be properly 
and securely braced so that even any vibration is impossible. There 
must be no "give" to the board on the impact of the ball or the ball 
will lose speed. The top of the structure, including the board, should 
have studding 2 inches thick. 4 inches wide and 10 feet long, extend- 
ing outward and upward over the court and field, covered with wire 
netting, IV2 inch mesh, to keep the ball in sight. The face of the 
structure not occupied by the board or boards should be painted the 
same as the board, but the color should be light green, and the rear of 
the entire structure should be painted as often as necessary. 

The floor of the court may be made of concrete, finished smooth but 
not glazed. The concrete need not necessarily extend over the whole 
playing field; if it extends beyond the court 5 feet all around it will 
be satisfactory, provided the rest of the playing field is made of sand 
and clay and kept well rolled, and it should also drain away from the 
court on the three sides. Of course, the very best floor is built like 

*Mr. Brokaw is an authority on the one-wall, or American game, and is the author 
of a very instructive book on the subject (No. 13 of Spalding's Athletic Library; 
price 10 cents). 



88 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



the board, with the beams laid in concrete, but the wood floor costs 
more in upkeep than concrete, for the latter costs practically nothing 
if built right in the first place. 

At the back and sides of playing field, a fence 15 feet high and cov- 
ered with wire netting should be built to save time looking for lost 
balls. A dirt floor for a court is impossible with any combination of 
materials, because it kills the speed of the ball. A fine place for out- 
door courts is on top of buildings, especially high ones, where the air 
is pure and the sunshine perfect ; played under such circumstances the 
benefit is equal to a trip to the country. There is no other game that 
can be played on top of buildings, because all other games require too 
much floor area, while American — one-wall — handball can be played 
very satisfactorily on a space 50 feet square. Roof courts should be 
well guarded on the sides, to make it impossible under any conceivable 
circumstance that a player could go over the coping, and the court 
should be entirely covered with wire netting, allowing a headroom of 
not less than 15 feet. As roofs are usually constructed now, the roof 
proper would answer very well for the court by simply painting the 
lines of the court thereon, but the board should be properly built and 
on most buildings can be secured to some existing waU or coping, 
making it a very inexpensive proposition. It should be possible for a 
business man to leave his desk, go to the roof of his building, play 
two or three games, take a shower also in the building, and be back 
at his desk in one hour, greatly improved in mind and body. 

Indoor courts can be built in several ways and very inexpensively. 
Once built, their maintenance cost is very slight. In gymnasiums, the 
regulation board, 20 by 10 feet, with two layers of boards, can be con- 
structed and secured to any existing wall of the building, painted 
white and without lines, with the adjoining walls of buildings also 
white, so as to obtain all the light possible. The floor of the court can 
be the regular floor of the gymnasium, with the court lines painted 
red; this allows for the use of the floor space for other than handball 
purposes when desired. The floor should be gone over about every 
three months with a thin coat of a mixture of varnish and oil to take 
the glazed surface off and enable the players to get a good footing. A 
slippery floor spoils the game. The floor should always be perfectly 
even, if necessary planed and then oiled, but a slight "give" to the 
floor is not a detriment, for it is easier on the feet and legs of the 
players and does not affect the ball unfavorably. About 50 feet from 
the board it is well to stretch a cotton net not over 4 feet high across 
the width of the playing field to stop the ball and prevent unnecessary 
interruptions to the game. Lighting for indoor courts, to permit play- 
ing at night, may be by either incandescent or arc lights. If incandes- 
cent, the lights should be placed about 2 feet from the board on both 
sides of the board against the wall on a vertical line, in a series of 10 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



89 



bulbs, laid in a metal reflector and covered with stout wire netting 
Above the court, two series of the same kind, but with the bulbs 18 
inches apart, one end of each series to be about 4 feet from the board 
on the side line and to extend away from the board to a point where 
the other end of each series shall be not more than 5 feet from the side 
line. Metal reflectors and heavy wire netting as before. If arc lights 
are to be used there should be four placed approximately at the cor- 
ners of the court, but the two nearest the board should be 5 feet from 
the wall and 2 feet from the side line. The other two should be v/ithin 
the court, 2 feet from the side line and 2 feet from the front line, and 
about 5 feet higher than those nearest the board, which should be 10 
feet above the floor. The two inner lights should have metal reflectors 
throwing the light directly on and from the board to the front line, the 
two outer lights being principally to increase the volume of light in 
the court and playing field. It is difficult to say which system of light- 
ing is the best, but both should not be used on the same court, for 
different colored rays of light would cause trouble in judging the ball. 



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Spalding 
Official Handballs 




No. 101. ''American Standard." 
The off cial ball of the game. Used 
in all championship tournaments. 

Each 35 cents 



Spalding Handball Gloves 

No. B. Stiff flat fingers and palm of solid leather. Patented January 
6, 1914. . . Pair, $5.00 

No. 2. Soft tanned leather, stitched palm Pair, $3.00 

No. T. High grade tan leather, stitched palm, perforated fingers. 

Pair, $4.00 



All prices subject to change without notice. All orders will be accepted only lubject to our 

ability to supply the goods. 



m^mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm^ 



THE CODE OF A GOOD SPORT 



Thou shalt not quit. 

II 

Thou shalt not alibi. 

Ill 

Thou shalt not gloat over winning. 
IV 

Thou shalt not be a poor loser. 

V 

Thou shalt not take unfair advantage. 
VI 

Thou shalt not ask odds thou art unwilling 
to give. 

VII 

Thou shalt always be ready to give thine 
opponent the shade. 

VIII 

Thou shalt not underestimate an opponent, 
nor overestimate thyself. 

IX 

Thou shalt root with all thy might, but in 
rooting a good sport will root right. 

X 

Honor the game thou playest, for he who 
playeth the game straight and hard wins 
even when he loses. 



3477-79 

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